Fanmix: Right Where We Belong

[wilderthan]

Another extra for Right Where We Belong, my au_bigbang fic! Back when I did the kink_bigbang, I made an author's mix for it, so I thought I'd do something like that again. This time, instead of snippets, since you got snippets when I did the promo, I'm going to explain a bit about why I chose the songs. Thanks, feywood, for the help putting it together. ♥

There are spoilers for the fic in my commentary.

You can download the mix here, or listen to it on Spotify here.

You can read the fic here!

1. Dar Williams - Family.

Can you fix this? It's a broken heart.
It was fine, but it just fell apart.
It was mine, but now I give it to you,
Cause you can fix it, you know what to do.
Let your love cover me,
Like a pair of angel wings,
You are my family,
You are my family.

I have this... thing, where I'm sure there's a Dar Williams song for absolutely everything. It didn't take me long to think of that for this fic: family is always so important to Dean, but especially here where he makes a family. It's not just Ellen and Bill taking him in, or watching Jo grow up, it's working in the roadhouse and helping Ellen out and looking after Jo and, in the end, going out to save what's left of the family he was born into.

2. Fiona Apple - The Child Is Gone.

Honey help me out of this mess
I'm a stranger to myself
But don't reach for me, I'm too far away
I don't wanna talk 'cause there's nothing left to say
So my darling, give me your absence tonight
Take all of your sympathy and leave it outside
'Cause there's no kind of loving that can make this all right
I'm trying to find a place I belong

This one's for Sam. The fic doesn't focus on him, and how bad he's got it, growing up the way he does, but he doesn't get a family like Dean, doesn't get to know he's a part of anything or that he's safe.

3. Florence + The Machine - My Boy Builds Coffins.

My boy builds coffins for the rich and the poor
Kings and Queens they've all knocked on his door
Beggars and liars, gypsies and thieves
They all come to him cause he's so eager to please
My boy builds coffins he makes them all day
But it's not just for work and it isn't for play
He's made one for himself
One for me too
One of these days he'll make one for you

This one's kind of for Ellen's perspective on everything. She sees Dean growing up, how he comes to her with nothing and how he keeps on giving himself away, going along with what other people need and not what he needs.

4. Dar Williams - Flinty Kind of Woman.

Going east of Mississippi got a flinty kind of woman
And you don't act smart and you don't touch my children
If the young man wants to see the sun go down

This song is mostly a bit of fun, but that sentiment? Yeah, don't mess with Ellen's kids.

5. Garbage - As Heaven is Wide.

What's inside a man that goes so wrong
Choke on guilt that's far too good for you
Say one word I'll laugh and bury you
And leave you in the place where you left me
If flesh could crawl
My skin would fall
From off my bones and run away from here
As far from god
As heaven is wide
As far from god
As angels can fly

This song's here for Ruby and Sam. It's implied and not explicit, in the fic, but Ruby leads Sam astray in much the same way as she does in canon. Sam's good intentions will pave the way to hell, and everything he has with her is tainted with unholiness.

6. Tegan and Sara - Proud.

Freedom and blood
I make my mark and fight for tomorrow
Finally I've got something
Something I can raise my voice for
Fine tell them who you really want
Fine well you'll get yours and I'll get mine

This is pretty much for the scene in which Jo stands up and fights. In my mind, in that scene, she resolves to be a hunter no matter what Ellen thinks. She's found that she really can fight and she will fight and that she feels like she has something she must fight for.

7. Melissa Etheridge - Angels Would Fall.

Angels never came down
There's no one here
They want to hang around
But if they knew
If they knew you at all
Then one by one the angels
Angels would fall

Meeting Dean is a pretty eye-opening experience for Castiel. He starts off all righteous and knowing what he has to do, and then he meets Dean, who is damaged and broken and still does the right thing, and he learns a lot from Dean.

8. Sarah McLachlan - Answer.

I will be the answer
At the end of the line
I will be there for you
While you take the time
In the burning of uncertainty
I will be your solid ground
I will hold the balance
If you can't look down

This song is for Sam and Dean, really -- for what Sam hopes they'll have, for how much he feels Dean has saved him.